Four-Alarm Fire
by jaykw2614
Summary: A Root & Shaw one-shot that takes place after the wedding in 5x06 'A More Perfect Union'.


**I had this idea after seeing Root at the wedding. I wrote it all in one sitting which is really rare for me with my chronic writer's block, but I was just so inspired. I love this show and I love Root & Shaw together. I can't wait for their reunion and waiting is making me anxious, so I writing helps. I hope you guys like it. This is my first POI FanFic. So let me know what you think. I love constructive criticism. Enjoy!**

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 **Four-Alarm Fire**

Time after time Root had found herself in a room filled with people, whether she knew them or not. But never in her life had she felt so alone, so abandoned. Even with John and Harold sitting right by her side, every inch of her felt utterly empty.

Root had always loved weddings. Despite her childhood and her somewhat off-putting personality, there was something about two individuals who were so madly in love, standing before the people they cared about declaring to each other to spend the rest of their lives together. Root could never pass up the chance to go wedding, invited or not. She reveled in the romance and the magic of it all. But this time, instead of being overwhelmed with merriment & bliss, all that filled her was lonesome.

More than anything, she wished sitting next to her was Sameen Shaw. As much as she had cared for Finch and had over the last few months grown fond of Reese, neither of them could fill the void left in her that fateful day at the Stock Exchange. Every day she relived the moment her heart not only broke but shattered. Shaw had risked her life to save the rest of them, not before saying goodbye to Root in the form of a kiss she felt each morning when she woke. As the elevator doors slowly closed over the gate her hands were glued to, Root was forced to watch and endure the emotional turmoil of seeing the love of her life for the last time.

When that first bullet tore through Shaw, all air left Root's lungs. She could no longer breathe, but Shaw was still standing. She was a fighter, one of the many things Root loved about her. Then came the second bullet. Try as she might to keep going, to keep standing, the force behind the projectile was much stronger and propelled her small frame to the ground. Root lost all control and let out a cry so loud yet felt so far away, she didn't even realize she was its point of origin. The doors to the elevator were obstructing her view more and more with each passing second. On either side of her, she fought as both Finch and Lionel tried to tear her away to prevent her fingers from being severed. Watching as Shaw lay on the ground, still alive, Martine stood over her, gun aimed at her head with no ounce of mercy in her eye. Root was pulled back just as the doors met each other. Once they were closed, she heard the final shot ring out and grew hysterical knowing the woman she loved was gone.

The days following her greatest tragedy, didn't seem real in the slightest as they had passed by in a haze. Finch had to constantly keep Root sedated in the safe house. Every time she regained consciousness, she asked where Shaw was, still thinking she was in need of rescuing from Martine after her cover had been blown by Samaritan. And each time, Finch had to tell her, again, that she was already gone, and re-explain to her the events of the Stock Exchange. Root had been tortured many times before, but nothing she had ever been forced to undergo had left her so broken.

So sitting there, in that beautiful ballroom, dressed to the nines, surrounded by happy couples drunk off the love that spilled over from the ceremony, all Root could bring herself to think about was the one thing in her life that was missing. Sameen.

Feeling a hand press softly on her back, Root prepared herself to turn down a dance offer from one of the random single male occupants attending the reception, but had no way of predicting what was to come. Before she could turn around to face the person behind her, she heard a warm, soothing and familiar voice in her ear that made her heart stop for the second time in her life.

"Hey beautiful. May I have this dance?" Root's eyes grew wide. Risking whiplash, she spun quickly spun around to face the woman standing behind her.

"Shaw?" she said as her voice broke slightly.

Sameen had never looked so beautiful to her. Wearing a little black dress that hugged her in all the right places, heels that accentuated her flawless legs and her gorgeous brunette hair cascading down past her shoulders, Root was in awe. She couldn't take her eyes off of her.

Shaw's eyes moved to the table landing on the glass in front of her. "Is that Bourbon?" She asked no one in particular not bothering to wait for an answer as she leaned down and reached for it. "A woman after my own heart." With that, she threw the drink back and swallowed it all with one gulp." Setting the glass back down on the table, she turned to Root who was still awestricken by her presence. "I'll forgive you for staring because I know how good I look, but I'm only going to ask you one more time." She leaned in to bring her face a few millimeters from Root's and turned on her most seductive voice. "Do you want to dance with me?" Shaw held her hand out, waiting for Root to take it.

Root couldn't for the life of her find any string of words to put together and speak. With her eyes fastened to Shaw's, she nodded and placed her shaking hand in hers surprised by how real it felt, thinking about how much she had missed her touch.

Walking out to the dancefloor Shaw interlaced her fingers with Roots, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. Without warning, Shaw rotated to face Root and abruptly pulled her in close catching her by surprise. She brought her left hand around to the small of her back and waited for Root to place hers on her shoulder. Once she did, Shaw began to lead them in their glide across the dancefloor.

All the while, their eyes never broke the contact they had held with each other. "I can't believe it's really you." Root said in a low whisper, still struggling to turn her rapid thoughts in to coherent words.

"Don't tell me you gave up on me." Shaw said blithely.

Hearing that doubt from Shaw, even in her usual lighthearted tone, sent a pain through Root. "Of course not. I never stopped looking for you." Tears began to well in her eyes. She made an effort to hide it, to fight it, but in Shaw's presence, her defenses wear weakened substantially.

"Hey. I'm right here. I'm back. I'm home." Shaw brought her right hand up and wiped away a tear Root wasn't even aware had fallen. "I meant what I said by the way. You're beautiful."

Root let out a small chuckle. "You saved my life." Shaking her head, they shared a smile. "How do I ever tell you just how grateful I am?"

"You could always repay the favor." Shaw replied with a sly smile. That was all Root needed. Placing her hand gently on Shaw's face, she leaned in pressed her lips to hers for a long awaited, tender kiss. All the anticipation that had built up over the last year did not disappoint. The second their lips met, both women felt the warm rush of electricity flow through every fiber of their being. Shaw was right once again. It was a four alarm fire.

Finally, the two broke away. "Well that didn't suck." Shaw said through a smile.

"It sure didn't." Root replied.

Shaw took a second to look around the rest of the room. "Finally, we're alone." She said to her with a sigh of relief.

Root looked around confused. Every soul that had occupied the grand ballroom just seconds ago had vanished without a trace. "Wait." She said panicked, searching the room for Harold and John. "Where did everyone go?" She turned back to Shaw.

"Who cares? It's just me and you now. It's all I ever needed." Before Root knew what was happening, Shaw spun her around like a princess in a Disney movie. Root twirled for a few moments, letting her cares dissipate with each twirl. As she found her footing and planted her souls firmly, her moment of ecstasy took an epic downfall back into the chasm of isolation she had felt less than a half hour ago.

Shaw had too vanished. She was gone. Again. "Shaw?" she called out to the emptiness, but lost all oxygen when she heard nothing in return. Turning in a complete circle, with her eyes scanning every inch of the room, she began to panic. "Shaw?!" she screamed louder. Hearing the echo of her voice sent a chill down her spine. "SHAW!...COME BACK!" She fell to the ground, landing on her knees as her dress fell all around her. Tears flowed freely. Her emotional floodgates had opened and had no chance of closing again. "I need you…Please, Sameen."

Root jolted awake and quickly sat up in her bed. "Shaw?" Bear, sleeping at the foot of her bed, was startled awake and looked over at her. Glancing around her room, she started to remember just where she was. Her room in the subway. Bear could sense her anguish, and let out a whimper, crawling up to her side and nuzzling himself up against her ribcage letting her know she wasn't alone. She patted his head giving a silent thank you. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I just miss her. I know you do too." Root let out one last sigh before laying her head back down. She waited to close her eyes, looking at the chair on the other side of the room where she threw her dress from the wedding and her high heels. Wiping away a tear before it could hit her pillow, she diverted her gaze to her nightstand. Grabbing blindly at the picture on it, she pulled it down and brought into her line of vision.

Staring at the photo, she mesmerized every feature of the stoic face staring back at her. Sameen Shaw was the love of her life. That much she knew for sure and she would not stop fighting to bring her back home. Licking away another tear that had escaped her brown eyes, Root brought the picture down to her chest, hugging it closely to her heart and closed her eyes. Every night she allowed herself to fall asleep, knowing her reason for waking up the next morning was to find her compact Persian sociopath and finally have their explosive, cozy four-alarm fire.

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 **That's it. Again I wrote this quickly and didn't thoroughly edit so let me know if there are any screw ups. Like I said I love constructive criticism and I also take requests so let me know what you would like me to write. Thanks for reading!**


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